Hello
by evgrrl09
Summary: A tragedy strikes Penelope and Derek's life together, causing them to split. Three years later, he returns and they are forced to face their demons. Twoshot Morgan/Garcia. Adele-inspired.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **I've been super obsessed with Adele's new album and I decided to do a twoshot with "Hello." Just an angsty twoshot right after the holidays (because angst is just how I role). I hope you'll enjoy!**

 _Hello, it's me_

 _I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet_

 _To go over everything_

 _They say that time's supposed to heal ya_

 _But I ain't done much healing_

He sat outside the Edwardian style house, gathering his courage. He had come back after three long years overseas, and he was coming back to her. Not that he thought she would take him back; he just wanted to talk. His years in the Middle East profiling terrorists had given him an opportunity to look over himself and every mistake he'd made that caused him to run away.

Christmas had come, seemingly the perfect time for his homecoming. A light blanket of snow covered the ground. The air had a frosty tinge to it. That seemed to be perfect for him coming home, too.

It froze his heart in the same way the pain of losing Penelope and their life together did.

Cautiously, he opened the door of his car and made his way toward where she now lived. JJ had given him the address when he returned. She had also bestowed upon him a warning, one that he had not wanted to hear, but acknowledged was a truth he needed to accept.

He didn't care, though. He needed to apologize, to tell her he was sorry for everything he had done.

When he reached the porch, he knocked sharply on the door. He knew they were up still; the lights shone brightly through the glass and onto the lawn, making the snow glitter like hundreds of tiny diamonds. Keeping his hands in his pockets, he waited patiently for the sound of footsteps on the other side.

As the door opened, a man, one he had never seen before, appeared. Her husband was the polar opposite of him. The man was shorter than him, and he had a fair complexion with a head of golden hair.

So this was who had replaced him.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, frowning.

Derek straightened, nodding. "I'm looking for Penelope," he said.

"Umm, who are you? Why do you want to see my wife?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing. Clearly he didn't trust Derek; of course, who would? His face was covered in scruff where his goatee used to be, and he had wrinkles around his eyes from the intense stress of living in a warzone surrounded by bombs and explosions. Not to mention he had burn scars on his neck and hands from an explosion he had been caught in. Thankfully a shirt covered his chest or he would have made the husband extremely uncomfortable with the burn scars there.

A sweet, soft voice came from behind the husband. "Lance? Honey, who's at the door?"

Behind Lance came Penelope. She had a radiant smile on her face until she saw who was at the door. Her smile dropped abruptly. Swallowing hard, she touched her chest.

"Derek?" she whispered. Her voice was hoarse.

He nodded. "Hello, Penelope," he greeted.

Her eyes lit up with emotion, but not the joyful type he used to see when she looked at him with before. Blood drained from her face.

"Wh – what are you doing here?" she stuttered. She moved to stand in front of her husband, directly facing Derek directly. Her eyes definitely found the scars on his neck because they grew wide with shock. She gasped. "Your _neck_!"

Derek nodded. "Can I talk with you?" he asked.

Lance held up his hands, halting the conversation. "Wait, wait!" he snapped. "Who is this, Penelope? Why does he want to talk to you?"

"We're…old friends," Penelope answered carefully. She couldn't remove her gaze from Derek's, even as she was supposed to be talking to her husband.

He snorted. "Is old friends code for exes?"

Penelope turned to her husband finally. "Honey, go back inside," she murmured. "I'll be in to help you with the Christmas decorations in just a few minutes."

Lance turned his gaze back to Derek, his eyes narrowed in distrust. All Derek did was stare evenly back at him. Lance was letting him know in his own not-so subtle way that he didn't trust Derek alone with Penelope. Instead of saying anything, Lance leaned in and kissed Penelope's cheek.

"Call me out if you need me," he said before disappearing inside the house and closing the door.

Penelope and Derek were left alone on the porch. The air around them chilled both of them to the bone, but they stood on the porch even so. She crossed her arms over her chest. Coughing, she met his eyes again.

"What happened to you?" she whispered.

He shrugged. "I was profiling terrorists," he said. "I got caught in a fire caused by a suicide bomber." He neglected to mention it was from pulling a child out of the collapsed building.

Tears filled her eyes. She covered her mouth. It looked as if she were struggling to breathe. "Why did you come back?"

"The things I saw over there – people with suicide bombs strapped to them, children dying because of drone strikes our government sent over? I couldn't be a part of it anymore."

She shook her head, wiping the few tears that leaked out of her eyes. "Why are you back at my doorstep?" she clarified.

Derek stayed silent for a moment, staring at her face and taking in every inch of it. His eyes flicked to her left hand next, looking at the large diamond on her ring finger. It was bigger than the one he had given her three years ago. Oddly enough, it didn't make him jealous.

"We didn't say goodbye very well last time," he said finally.

Penelope's expression darkened at that. "Yeah, well…" She shook her head. "Things didn't exactly end well between us. You left."

He cleared his throat. "Things got hard," he mumbled.

"That's the biggest understatement I've heard in three years," she snarled, her voice turning vicious all the sudden. "Don't try and tell me it's something as simple as 'Things got hard'!"

He rubbed his chin, scratching at the scruff on his face. "It isn't a simple statement," he said. "I really mean it."

"I would know it better than anyone!" she hissed. "I was the one who had to carry him after we found out he was dead. I was the one who had to give birth to our dead son!" Tears came in more ferocious waves now, and she hurriedly wiped her face. "If you think things were _hard_ for you, how do you think things were for me?"

Derek thought back to three years ago, when they lived together and were expecting their first child. When they found out the baby was dead in Penelope's womb, she delivered their son after having to carry him for another two months.

After that they both ran away from each other, and Derek's form of running involved going overseas; Penelope's was getting married. He had hoped the pain would alleviate over the years he was gone, but he felt nothing but sorrow even after spending them in the hot desert sun.

"I came to apologize for…for running away," Derek said. "I didn't come here to tell you how I had it harder than you."

Penelope bent her head, choking on a sob. The way they were before would have sent him running to comfort her. Right now, he couldn't. They weren't what they were before. So he watched her cry, a knife plunging into his heart every second he stood there without trying to ease her pain.

"I never wanted you to leave!" she wept. "We were struggling, but I needed you. After losing Felix, we should have stuck together."

Pain coursed through every nerve in his body, a white hot, searing agony that he wanted to expel from himself as fast as possible. He bent his head, ashamed. Seeing her on this porch, crying over him and Felix even when she had found herself a new life killed a part of him.

"I know," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." He went toward her, reaching his hand out to touch her face. "I'll never forgive myself for what I did. I came to tell you I'm sorry. I want you to know that I never stopped loving you, and I'm glad you found someone to make you happy."

She glared at him. "You're _glad_ I found someone to make me happy?" she demanded. "You're glad I'm with someone who isn't you?"

Derek stared at her. Of course he wasn't happy that it wasn't him. But after leaving, he couldn't very well say he was unhappy. He had no right to say that.

Penelope shoved his burn-scarred hand away with a venomous look. "No words, huh?" she snapped. "What a surprise!"

He shook his head with a sigh. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he murmured. Leaning forward, he placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Penelope."

She shoved him backwards. "Just go!" she cried. "I'm done with you. _Done_!"

Without another word, he turned and started to return to his car. As he disappeared into the darkness, he heard Penelope's thick sobs escaping from her throat.

 _Hello from the outside_

 _At least I can say that I've tried_

 _To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart_

 _But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore_

Derek pulled out his keys in the parking lot of the grocery store. Readjusting to normal life wasn't going the way he wanted it to. Everywhere he went people pointed and stared at his burn scars. Frequently he woke in the middle night from nightmares of dead children, a cold sweat covering his brow.

His only solace was the booze he bought that drowned his memories.

"Hey! Hey, Derek!"

The voice that hollered at him sounded viciously angry, like there was a burning rage in the speaker that couldn't be contained. Derek turned to find the source of his name. Storming toward him was Lance, Penelope's husband. A look of fury decorated his face.

Derek arched a brow at him, setting his bag of groceries down on the hood of his car. He wanted to be prepared in case the other man threw a punch; he certainly looked like he might sock him in the jaw.

"Where the hell is my wife?" Lance demanded, halting in front of Derek. He shoved his finger into Derek's chest, causing him to tense up.

Confused, Derek shook his head. "I don't know where she is," he said. "I haven't seen her since I came to your house two weeks ago." Panic washed through him. "How long has it been since you saw her last?"

"I haven't seen her for three days," Lance growled. "But she's been acting off ever since you showed up at our house. What did you do to her?" His eyes narrowed. "You better not have hurt her! I swear I'll call the police if you've done anything to –"

Derek silenced him with a look. "If I see her, I'll be sure to let her know you're looking for her." Without another word, he went around Lance and got into his car. If Penelope was acting odd, and that was all he was saying, she clearly had not told her dearly beloved about their son.

With a sigh, Derek put his SUV in gear and prepared to drive off. He knew exactly where Penelope was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Happy New Year, everyone!** **Sorry the first one was so heartbreaking. I really appreciate you sticking in for it. Here is the second one of this twoshot. Thank you so much for the reviews, and I hope you'll find this a satisfying ending to the story.**

 **PS – I have started an Instagram account for anyone interested. It's evgrrl09, just like my name here!**

Derek pulled into the cemetery parking lot, shutting his car off. Everything was white. The trees had no leaves, their branches simply covered in a dusting of white powder. Tiny flakes of snow fell from the shimmery white sky.

He sighed and stepped out of the car, his boots crunching on the snow as he made his way through the iron-wrought gate to the rows of graves. He weaved through the trees to find where he was sure Penelope was. As snowflakes fell from the sky and landed on his nose, he swiped them off his face. A gust of wind blew against his skin, biting through his coat and chilling him to the bone.

Up ahead of him, he found Penelope kneeling on the ground in front of a small stone grave. Her back was to him, her shoulders trembling. His heart, the one that had been frozen in his chest for the last three years, broke in two. Had he ever really taken time and thought about what he'd done to Penelope? Or had he just been so selfish he only cared what happened to him and his pain?

When he reached her, he went to kneel beside her. Glancing over at Penelope, he saw her tears glittering on her cheeks. They shimmered like diamonds on her face. She couldn't tear her eyes from the grave. Her lips were slightly parted, and she sniffled.

"Who do you think he would have looked more like?" she whispered, not removing her eyes from Felix's name.

He didn't say anything; he merely watched the grave. The cold granite remained unmoving. It didn't fit with the image of his son that Derek wanted in his head, but it was all he would ever have. He hadn't seen it in three years, but he remembered it like he had seen it yesterday and not just in his nightmares.

"I think he would have looked like you," he whispered. He hadn't even thought about it before because it would have been too painful. "I bet he would have had your eyes."

"Really?" A ghostly smile appeared on her lips. "I thought he would have looked like you."

A lump formed in his throat, and he swallowed hard. Of course they thought their son would look like one another. It hurt too much, and he rubbed his eyes to keep from breaking down.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Lance found me at the parking lot of a grocery store. He said he hadn't seen you in a few days. And that you'd been acting weird."

Penelope didn't say a word.

"You didn't tell him what happened?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "There was no reason to."

"Don't you love him?" he asked, finally looking over at her again.

Tears continued to stream down her face, but she still didn't look at him. Wiping her eyes, she murmured, "I needed him, but not because I love him." She laughed bitterly. "I've been hiding things for a long time. You showing up again brought it all back." She finally turned to him and glared. "You're the one who made me feel this way again! If you hadn't come back, I would have been fine!"

Derek met her eyes they stared at one another. Fiery hatred blazed back at him, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"If you had just left me alone, I could have moved on!" she spat. "Why did you have to come back?"

"Because I wanted to say I was sorry," he said. "I wanted to –"

She rose to her feet and pointed at him with fury. Her knees were soaked with snow, the same way her tears stained her cheeks. "I'm tired of you telling me you're sorry!" she screamed. "It's not enough! You left me when I needed you most, after our _son_ died!"

Rising from his place in the snow, Derek faced her. He wasn't even upset; he knew she needed to let him know what she felt. He deserved this.

"You didn't have any right to jump into my life again after you bounced out!" she screamed. "Why didn't you stay in the desert and get blown up there? You should've let that fire kill you instead of coming back and breaking my heart all over again!" Her face now had red splotches on it, crimson with the fury she felt.

Derek went toward her, desperate to fix this. He'd killed the spirit inside of her. "Penelope," he begged. "You have to believe me, I never meant to hurt you."

"Well, you did!" She stepped backward, not wanting him to get anywhere near her.

His chest burned with the pent up guilt he had carried with him for three years. He held out his hand to her, hoping she would take it. But instead she stared angrily at it. Taking a deep breath, he murmured, "I know. I fucked up. I fucked up because I left you. I never should have because every day I left I regretted it. When I went into that fire for Siddin, I _hoped_ it would kill me. I know I deserved it, but when I was in the hospital, all I thought about was you." A burning flared up in his eyes, and he tried to blink it away. "I wanted to die because of how bad I hurt you. But when I was in the hospital, I knew I needed to fight because I wanted to come back and tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you, and I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough after Felix to stay and be here for you."

"And what?" she cried. "You think now that you came here and said this to me that I would just, what? Leave my husband and get back together with you?"

Derek shook his head. "No!" he protested. "No, I just wanted you to know that I'm…well, I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that!" She started to choke on sobs. Touching her chest, she tried to hold them in, but was unsuccessful.

He shook his head in defeat. She would never forgive him, and now all he could do was do what she wanted. "What do you want me to do?" he murmured.

Penelope stared at him, the hate still blazing in her eyes. She remained still. It killed him, almost physically crippling.

When she finally spoke, the words she said turned his heart to ash in his ribcage.

"I want you to go, and never try to contact me again," she hissed. "You stay away from me, and take your useless guilt somewhere else. Save it for someone who wants it!"

Somehow he knew that was what she would say. And he knew he needed to accept it.

"If that's what you want," he murmured, "I'll do it."

Thicker sobs broke free from her throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut in agony. "Of course that's not what I want!" she wept. "I want everything back the way it was. I want my best friend back, I want to be happy again. I – I want my…I want my _son_ back!" Her breath disappeared as she tried to take in air in deep gasps. Everything that remained of Penelope dissolved as she wavered on shaky legs.

This time, instead of watching her suffer alone, Derek shot forward and caught her in his arms before she could fall to the ground. He held her with as much strength and gentleness he could. Even so, she beat her fists against his chest, struggling in his arms. Her whole body felt cold in his arms.

"Let go of me!" she cried. "You left me once, you can do it again! I don't need you."

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to try and banish the pain he felt so he could focus on nothing but her.

"No," he whispered. "I'm not letting you go."

Penelope's protesting began to slow down, her arms growing weaker and weaker until she fell apart. Derek took a slow breath in and out, fighting against his own grief. Her fingers curled into the coarse leather of his faded jacket. She wore no gloves, and when he looked down at her hands, her fingers were red and frozen stiff.

Removing his gloves, he shoved them in his pocket and took her hands in his. He warmed them with his own, hoping his body heat would keep her fingers from getting frostbite.

Neither of them spoke. The only sound was Penelope's sniffles. All he wanted to do was warm her and try to repair the damage he had caused.

After a moment, Penelope looked up in his eyes. Her sherry brown orbs shimmered back up at his onyx ones.

"Please don't go," she whispered. "I lost Felix…please don't make me lose you, too."

Derek shook his head as he made his vow. "I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
